Repsol Honda MotoGP Qualifying Report For German GP

Sachsenring Circuit

Repsol Honda 1-2 in Germany Qualifying

Repsol Honda riders Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa will start the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland race from first and second on the grid, with team mate Andrea Dovizioso in sixth.

Stoner has been playing catch up since his accident yesterday in FP1 and tested several configurations on both his RC212V's before finding a set up he was comfortable with. Once he found it, the Australian recorded some impressive lap times and was the first rider to drop below 1'22 and on a hard used tyre. His pole position lap of 1'21.682 was two tenths faster than Dani Pedrosa's Circuit Record Lap set in 2010.

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Bridgestone Corporation

Pedrosa took advantage of the Sachsenring circuit with its many left hand corners, which are easier on his shoulder than circuits dominated with right hand corners. The Repsol Honda rider who returned to racing in Mugello two weeks ago, after missing the three previous races, will be hoping he can put his injury fatigue to one side and score a strong result at a circuit he's always enjoyed.

Dovizioso is confident with his race pace and has found a set up he is happy with for the thirty lap race tomorrow. He will start from sixth and is a mere two tenths from Dani Pedrosa, which shows how close the riders are here with only a second separating the top twelve.

Casey Stoner:
"After the crash on Friday my confidence was dented a little and we struggled to get enough data, so we've been playing catch up all day today. This morning we made a few small steps forward but not really enough, the guys in front of us were just consistently that little bit faster and we were finding it hard to match their pace. We completed a lot of laps on one tyre this morning, in fact over race distance on a tyre I did one of my fastest laps on so this was certainly positive. Then this afternoon we kept trying different directions on both bikes and every step we made on each bike, we took big steps forward so we're pretty happy with the set up we have now. The lap times are very close here so it will be a tough race and hard to take any real advantage. However, I'm very happy and positive we can still slightly improve tomorrow morning so thanks to all my team for a great job."

Dani Pedrosa:
"It's great to be on the front row again, to be honest I didn't expect it. But we've done a good job and it's important to start in front here because the first corner is very tight and it's better to avoid being caught in the group at the start. For the race, we still need to improve the bike a little, so we will work on that with the mechanics this evening. It would be nice to have a little more traction. I think we will need to pay attention to Yamaha at the end of the race because the riding is smoother and they can save the tyres better. As for my condition, right now the races are physically hard for me, but it's also true that with more left hand corners in this circuit I don't suffer as in Mugello and I can concentrate on my riding. More than pain, I feel weak from lack of training, but we will give our maximum hoping to get a good result."

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Bridgestone Corporation

Andrea Dovizioso:
“I’m confident for tomorrow as we have good pace but it will be a hard race, as there are five or six of us very close to each other. Starting from the second row it will be important to have a good start and keep a constant rhythm without stressing the tyres too much, since they get very hot here. In the first laps the right side of the tyre is difficult to get temperature, into while the left side is stressed a lot so managing the tyres will be a crucial point for the race. We’ll work on the set up to fine tune the settings and I’m positive to fight for a good result tomorrow."